Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

AfricaCOM 2022: Taking the Pulse of Africa's Digital Transformation

28/11/2022

2022 will forever be the year that in-person events got back on their feet after two years in hibernation. As we've seen at all the events NAGRA has attended this year, the overwhelming desire to reconnect with colleagues and friends has been responsible for getting us all together again. The recent AfricaCOM expo, the flagship event of Africa's Tech Festival in Cape Town certainly supported this theory with our stand team reporting an atmosphere of curiosity and vibrancy that brought an unmistakably African vibe to proceedings.

Engaging with our stand visitors, we were struck by how keen everyone one was to get delayed projects moving again and learn how the challenges of a digital landscape so broad and diverse as Africa can be met with today's solutions. It was also great to reconnect with key partners to discuss the latest trends and review the projects we're jointly working on across Africa.

At our stand we ranged a number of solutions designed to respond to the questions of our visitors.

Hybrid OTT Streaming

Our Hybrid OTT streaming solutions showed the range of advanced features that can now be deployed quickly and simply onto retail-available hardware such as an Android TV set-top box. Powered by the NAGRA OpenTV Video Platform, our hybrid streaming solutions are used the world over by organizations looking to offer aggregated solutions driven by the great rebundling'. These solutions help operators deliver greater value by providing their subscribers with access to all the content they love via one central app - irrespective of the content's source or originating service. Our customer case studies of Starhub in Singapore and Claro in Colombia - who also added direct billing for Netflix to their service, attracted a lot of interest as new strategies and approaches were considered.

Direct-To-TV

For a continent where direct-to-TV solutions enjoy considerable success, we had a lot of discussions not only about our conditional access module (CAM) solutions but also our innovative TVkey solution which NAGRA created with Samsung. Deployed by HD+ in Ghana, it allows operators to tap into new distribution channels such as electrical retail and acquire subscribers through tantalizing offers as part of a new TV purchase. Also offering the ability to offer an identical user experience to that seen on a set-top box with the operator's brand front and center, there was a lot of discussion about how this can help address the challenges associated with reducing the cost to serve while still offering highly secure premium 4K content.

Protecting Revenues from Piracy

For those visitors who had already launched streaming propositions, there were a lot of conversations about how, as they rollout more premium content, the challenges get magnified as richer pickings are spotted by pirates. Themes such as CDN content theft, credential sharing and app protection were all discussed at length. The NAGRA Active Streaming Protection framework is designed to address the threats posed by streaming piracy. Featuring several different options and technologies, it aims, through a central security monitoring and analytics dashboard, to provide a clear, end-to-end view of the challenges facing the network. For today's streaming providers, multi-DRM isn't enough, and the distributed nature of OTT delivery means there are several aspects that need to be holistically considered to gain a true picture of the streaming piracy threat.

Growing Cybersecurity Threats

Our increasingly connected lifestyles mean that the attack surface area we expose to cyber criminals is considerable. But if you multiply that up and consider the surface area that operators are having to defend, the size of the challenge (and threat) is even larger. Add to this the dependency on the cloud and increasingly digital interactions with consumers and the shape of the new landscape is clear. For several operators that don't have in-house cyber teams, this is a daunting prospect and so our teams were happy to discuss how our holistic cyber protection solutions offer not only a focus on anti-piracy but also cybersecurity services such as incident response. These solutions focus on proactive approaches although when a reaction is necessary, our cyber fusion center teams respond instantly.

The team had a great time at AfricaCOM and as my colleague Mlu Mhlungu said, It's just great to be back chatting with people face to face and learning how we can help them continue to be successful. Our South Africa based team are looking forward to continuing the conversations started at AfricaCOM and are also excited to be moving to a new office in Cape Town in the New Year - if you're in the area, get in touch and we'll get the coffee on!
LINK: https://dtv.nagra.com/africacom-2022-taking-pulse-africas-digital-tran...
See more stories from nagra

Europe Stories

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

24/02/2026

Spotify and Liquid Death Bring Music to the Afterlife With the Eternal Playlist Urn and Playlist Generator

Life needs music. So does the afterlife. That's why Spotify has partnered wi...

24/02/2026

Fans Enter Bad Bunny's Universe at Spotify's Immersive Experience in So Paulo

Last weekend, S o Paulo buzzed with energy as Bad Bunny took the stage for two n...

24/02/2026

Clear-Com's Arcadia Central Station and FreeSpeak Icon Beltpacks Keep Red Bull's...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...

24/02/2026

Paul C. Brunson to front second series of true crime docu-series Red Flag for U and U&W

Paul C. Brunson: Red Flag to be produced by FirstLookTV and launch in 2026 UKTV...

24/02/2026

dB at MPTS 2026

This year, we're back at the Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS) in London. As always, we're looking forward to catching up with existing contac...

24/02/2026

dB Makes Further Key Appointments

We are pleased to announce that Pete Whiteway is joining the dB Technology Group as a Senior Systems Engineer. Pete brings over 20 years of experience in broadc...

24/02/2026

End-to-End Transparency in the Supply Chain You Can Touch

End-to-End Transparency in the Supply Chain You Can Touch The team at LogiMAT 2025 - from left: Michael Dreimann, Andr Haff, Nicolas Lapp, Bernd Jaschinski-...

24/02/2026

RT Commercial announces expansion of Partnerships Team to accelerate crossplatform brand opportunities

Katharine Wolinska appointed to lead Partnerships RT Commercial has announced ...

23/02/2026

3 Prompts to Try Using Prompted Playlist, Expanding in Beta to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Sweden

Prompted Playlist is expanding in beta to Premium listeners in the U.K., Ireland...

23/02/2026

5 Years in Nigeria: A Look Back at How Listeners Are Championing Homegrown Sounds

When Spotify launched in Nigeria in February 2021, the very first song a user st...

23/02/2026

aconnic to showcase cybersecurity and digital sovereignty solutions at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, will present its latest cybersecurity, ...

23/02/2026

X-Rite Pantone Launches Event Series to Modernize Textile Color Workflows

X-Rite Pantone Launches Event Series to Modernize Textile Color Workflows X-Rite Pantone, the global authority in color standards and color science, today a...

23/02/2026

Audience peak of over a million on RT2 as Ireland beat England in the Six Nations

Audience peak of over a million on RT 2 as Ireland beat England in the Six Natio...

20/02/2026

When Memory Gets Expensive, Is it Time to Swap the Box?

In our latest blog, Tim Pearson explores the impact that increased memory prices are having on the consumer electronics market, and particularly the set-top box...

20/02/2026

Calrec Type R: Shaping the Future of Radio at Flirt FM

Calrec Type R: Shaping the Future of Radio from the Heart of Flirt FM Love may have filled the airwaves last week for Valentine's Day, and we've just c...

20/02/2026

Other Voices returns to RT this Spring with performances from Dermot Kennedy, Amble, Florence Road and more

Other Voices returns to RT this Spring with performances from Dermot Kennedy, A...

19/02/2026

Watch Robyn's Long-Awaited Return to the Stage in Spotify's Exclusive Concert Film

Last November, Spotify hosted an unforgettable night with Robyn, where top fans ...

19/02/2026

UKTV Highlights Saturday February 21st - Friday February 27th 2026

What can I watch on UK TV this week?What can I stream on U this week? This guide highlights new and returning comedy, a critically acclaimed drama series avai...

19/02/2026

izzi Accelerates Strategic Fiber Broadband Expansion with Harmonic

Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Is Simplifying Fiber Rollouts, Lowering Infrastructure Spend, and Delivering Exceptional Broadband Experiences...

19/02/2026

Fox Corporation Announces It Will Match U.S. Government's $1,000 Contribution To Trump Accounts Children's Retirement Program

Fox Corporation Announces It Will Match U.S. Government's $1,000 Contributio...

18/02/2026

Bad Bunny to Make History in Tokyo With First-Ever Billions Club Live Performance in Asia

Following an extraordinary 2025 in which he was named Spotify's Global Top A...

18/02/2026

Bad Bunny har historia en Tokio con el primer Billions Club Live en Asia

Despu s de un extraordinario 2025 en el que fue nombrado Top Artista Global de Spotify por cuarta vez, algo sin precedentes (y tras su presentaci n en el halfti...

17/02/2026

The AI Wild West, and Why it Needs a Sheriff

AI Is Scaling Faster Than Governance And That's a Risk AI adoption hasn't rolled out through neat transformation programmes. It has spread organically...

17/02/2026

VEON and Hala to Explore Partnership in Ride-Hailing Services

17 Feb 2026 VEON and Hala to Explore Partnership in Ride-Hailing Services Dubai, February 17, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON...

17/02/2026

Arvato Systems Once Again Named One of Germany's Best IT Service Providers.

Arvato Systems Once Again Named One of Germany's Best IT Service Providers. The best IT service providers in 2026 G tersloh - Arvato Systems is once ag...

17/02/2026

ABC Consumer Media Report: Trusted data for a changing market

Open the report Our 2025 report brings together results from 155 consumer magazine titles across 42 market sectors, published by 59 media owners. Over the year...

17/02/2026

RT Choice Music Prize Announcement Classic Irish Album

Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize RT Choice Music Prize In association with IMRO and IRMA Classic Irish Album And the winning album is T...

17/02/2026

RT to provide Irish-language commentary on major rugby and soccer fixtures throughout 2026

RT has today announced that as part of its public-service remit, it will expand...

16/02/2026

aconnic ramping up production for ACCEED 4104 10 Gigabit system for international markets

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is increasing capacity and ramping up p...

16/02/2026

Mission: Impossible: Capturing sound 10 meters underwater

In Ep62 of the AMPS Podcast, they share how a 3 mm DPA 6061 Subminiature Mic became part of a custom solution hidden inside the underwater mask capturing breath...

16/02/2026

RT announces the Appointments of new Clarity Correspondent and Policy & Analysis Correspondent

RT News & Current Affairs has today announced the new appointments of journalis...

13/02/2026

Women in Podcasting Craft New Connections at Spotify's Galentine's Day Celebration in LA

This Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify brought together a group of podcast creat...

13/02/2026

Spotify and LoveShackFancy Bring Galentine's Glam to NYC, Featuring Special Performance by Joshua Basset

Yesterday, Spotify and LoveShackFancy hosted a Galentine's and Gents Lunch a...

13/02/2026

UKTV Highlights Saturday February 14th - Friday February 20th 2026

What can I watch on UKTV this week?What can I stream on U this week? This guide highlights romantic dramas for Valentine's Day, alternative relationship t...

13/02/2026

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player Swindlers, a...

12/02/2026

5 Ideas for Bringing the Music You Love Into Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day often comes with a soundtrack. In fact, Spotify data shows that more people used Blend, our shared playlist feature, on February 14, 2025, t...

12/02/2026

Prompted Playlist in Beta Coming to Premium Listeners in More Markets

Some days you want your music to reflect a specific feeling, memory, or vibe that goes beyond a single artist or genre. You want to do more than listen. You wan...

12/02/2026

Sky Original drama Under Salt Marsh hits 1.8 million viewers in its first seven days

The six-part crime drama, created by Claire Oakley and produced by Little Door P...

12/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24/7 Software and IT Support

Wuppertal February 12, 2026 Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Glo...

12/02/2026

The Digital Product Passport: A New Era of Transparency and Sustainability

The Digital Product Passport: A New Era of Transparency and Sustainability Arvato Systems supports companies in getting started with the digital product passp...

11/02/2026

DAM Los Angeles

Video moves fast can your DAM keep up? Join Blue Lucy in LA for the West Coast's leading Digital Asset Management event as we explore, celebrate, and acc...

11/02/2026

Sky brings together Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu into one single subscription, exclusively on Sky

Wednesday 11 February 2026 Sky brings together Netflix, Disney , HBO Max and Ha...

11/02/2026

Lisbon 2026

At the end of January, ICG headed off to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for our annual conference. An early flight gave us plenty of time to start exploring s...

11/02/2026

Blast off with the launch of new RT KIDSjr animated series Adam Loves Adventure

The intergalactic children's show starring Adam King will premiere on 14 February on RT 2, RT KIDSjr and RT Player The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King...

10/02/2026

Editor-Approved Audiobooks Inspired by the Gothic Spirit of Wuthering Heights'

With a new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights arriving just in time for Valent...